This just aint' right

How does this kind of "celebration" make us look any better than a mob of Arabs burning flags or Presidents-in-effigy? Looks pretty damned similar to me.

Usama bin-Laden was shot and killed sometime in the past 24 hours by brave U.S. Navy Seals, and his passing has left the world none the poorer. A violent man met a violent end, as they are more often than not wont to do. Emphasis may be placed on the fact that this particular man rained misery down upon many of his fellow human beings. At some point, I'm willing to bet that Mr. bin-Laden was given a choice between surrender and death --- something none of his victims were given. He availed himself of the path of least resistance.

I can't blame the SEAL who shot the man, bin-Laden was most likely (I wasn't there) armed and dangerous. But simply because a killing is "justifiable" by way of self-defense does not mean that the killing of Usama bin-Laden was "justice."

To believe that is to pervert the word, and the virtue behind it. You don't know what I'm driving at here? Read "The Republic." Take a 100-level philosophy course. Or read your New Testament. Any one will do.

Mr. bin-Laden, at some point in his life, perverted the message of Islam into a message of suffering, murder, and death. He was instrumental in creating multiple human tragedies in NY City, and around the world. Perhaps the final tragedy is all of the good he could have accomplished with his money, power, and charisma. He was obviously a gifted man, who misused his gifts in service of his zealotry.

And now...this. Americans chanting U-S-A, cheering his death, calling it God's wrath and "justice." The people choosing to react this way look no different than the rabble overseas burning flags.

I am no biblical scholar but I am Catholic. I don't recall - in any of Jesus' teachings - a single endorsement of violence. Not one. To claim that this was God's judgment is a perversion. At every turn Jesus rejected violence and vengeance, even when his murderers were putting hands on him. Period.

I am not blind or immune from an emotional response, that somehow Mr. bin-Laden's death closes the circle for some people - especially those who lost loved ones on September 11th. That was an awful day to be an American, and it's very easy to watch the news reports that show the Twin Towers falling and feel "you know what, the bastard got what he had coming to him." If you're reading this and you suffered a grievous loss on that dark day, I hope that today's news made you feel better.

Others are claiming that this was justice. While I agree that it was a justifiable killing, I cannot see where justice was served here.

What is justice? Again, I'll simply refer to The Republic. It's not simple fairness, or "eye for an eye." Would it have been more "just" to imprison the man? To try him and then execute him? Or to see him live long enough to see his own murderous acts as reprehensible and evil?

Who's to say? If you want easy answers, just trot along with the angry mob - they seem to know a lot.

Did this make the US and its' allies safer? Most certainly not. Terrorists appear to operate like the mythical Hydra, lop off one head and two spring up to take it's place. These guys see easy answers in blaming America for their societal ills. These guys see office buildings as military targets. To truly destroy "terrorism" you would have to destroy thought itself. Good luck with that, but I guess we're on our way if people's behavior is any indication.

Again, I'm Catholic and I have my biases. Death, in all of its' forms, is an anathema.....a black and empty hole that swallows the living. Reject it, there is no joy in death. Mr. bin-Laden will receive justice soon enough, in the only way justice is truly served. Embrace life.

My final blog entry..

...for the month of April, anyway. It's been a crazy couple of months.

The great news last night was that some Judge ruled for the NFL players over the owners, and forbade a lockout. Of course, the owners are appealing and seeking a stay of the lower Court Judge's decision pending that appeal. So, nothing much changes.

Booooring.

But, there's sooo much I haven't written about....how about some quick hits? That sounds just lazy enough to appealing to me. And, if this sporadic blog is proving anything, it's that I'm lazy.

Donald Trump: is 3 years too late. OK, I'm frightened by how much he made sense to me in his first dew interviews. But, let us think a moment. Is he saying (in an odd, left-handed way) that Senator McCain and the RNC were too lazy, dumb, ignorant, or cheap to ATTEMPT to dig up this dirt on the now-President Obama in 2008? I can't tell. BUT, that said, why doesn't Mr. Obama simply offer the documents Trump keeps crowing about to any camera that will listen? Why not? I suppose that any reply by the White House would make Trump's day - and who wants to do that?

Not sure Trump would be a horrible President. We elected an actor once, so what the hell?

The Fukushima Reactor: nuclear power might sound great, but it sounds less great in my back yard. Next question. Besides, with the Royal Wedding this week, it seems like everyone's forgotten about it.

The Royal Wedding: don't give a sh&t, next. Oh, but test them both for hemophilia.

The Passion story: if you're Catholic like me you know the story of Jesus' brutal death at the hands of the Romans and Jews in Jerusalem, and if you go to Mass you more than likely hear the extended reading of what's called "The Passion" (yes, there's a movie, too). I guess I'm like everyone else, I find the story sad and miserable. But as I've aged I see a power in it that I didn't notice before. It's one of few times in the New Testament where Jesus exhibits very human tendencies ("let this cup pass", for example). Additionally, Jesus' teachings were all about sublimating the ego for the benefit of all - and he lived that teaching until his death.

Plus, it also reminds those of us who are death penalty advocates that the State can and will put innocent people to death. The mobs in the Bible story were as certain of Jesus' guilt as any of today's. To believe in the righteousness of dealing death is to believe in a very seductive evil.

Easter: ours was good, hope yours was too. And on the 3rd day I might come down from eating all this friggin' candy...

Hockey: There were some amazing games Saturday, where the hometown Capitals finally closed out a series early against the tough NY Rangers and the Boston Bruins drilled Montreal. Plus, for you left-coasters, the Chicago-Vancouver series is blowing up. Playoff hockey is the single most amazing spectator sport - I shall once more ascend upon my soapbox and exhort any and all who read this to tune in and check out its'.......awesomeness.

...as for my continued and very very amateurish hockey "career," my dislocated shoulder still needs to heal. Dammit.

Budgets: when last I wrote on this here blog-thingie I worried quite openly about the Dummies on Capitol Hill doing Their Jobs. They did, and therefore I love them all - they're just darling people. You hate them only because you don't know them.

that's all from here, it's time to meditate, ohm

Lordy, Lordy, she turned 40

My wife Carol hit #40 on the odometer Saturday morning. I know this is supposed to be a big deal but the state of our current existence just simply won't allow it. Our Saturday was booked solid with work, kids' activities, and a Childhood Diabetes walk.

Well, you say, a good husband would foresee all of that and plan something in advance.

Sure...a good husband would indeed do that. But she married me.

Compounding her lousy Friday was the impending government shutdown and the late-arriving news that she was deemed "non-essential" and would therefore not be paid. ATTENTION TEA PARTY DOUCHBAGS AND OTHER ASSORTED AS*HOLES-----thank you for all of the unnecessary stress.

[Here's a thought....the Fed employs many highly competent and well-educated persons who work very, very hard and take their taxpayer-funded jobs very, very seriously. If your elected representatives fire them they will be looking for new jobs, and these highly marketable types just might be looking at taking YOUR job. Federal workers aren't all bums, y'know]

I'm working on Friday and getting occasional updates from her regarding the aforementioned job stress and that she's not feeling well, and I also know that I've done nothing for her birthday. And - thus far- her 40th birthday is looking fairly AWFUL. I knock off at 4:30 and run home to start dropping kids off and doing the evening taxiing that I need to do, and just manage to carve out 20 minutes to stop at the local Wal-Mart. You read that right, I went to Wal- Mart.

And there, my daughter Camille and I found a first-gen 64 gig iPad for a reasonable-yet-still-high-price. Ugh. "Hey hon, heard about the lack of funding and your impending unemployment, but look-heeeere's an expensive toy I just charged!! Happy birthday!!"

What is the sound of one frying pan denting?

Or, a nearly 40-year old woman crying?

Well, I'm standing in the electronics section unwashed, with dirt stains all over my white tee-shirt and severely torn up and filthy jeans. The FIRST thing the guy asks for is I.D.

huh?

He quickly corrects himself and asks how I'm paying (credit, natch) and THEN requests the ID, looking at me like I'm a Somali pirate trying to take over the Lusitania with a toy pistol. Only when the charge goes through does he trust me enough to actually place the new iPad anywhere near me. I must've looked like hell.

We bought a pretty bag and a couple cards (one for kids, one from me) plus some Reese's Cups and rushed home too late - she was already home. We managed to smuggle in the gifts and get the cards signed, then presented her with them as we were leaving for my mom's Lenten Friday Fish dinner (where can 8 people eat for $25?).

She loved it. I wasn't a total loss of a husband.

Saturday was, as I mentioned, another busy one. So was Sunday. They're ALL busy right now. But what's very important for me to note here is that my extended family (mother and father-in-law, and my parents and brother and his wife) helped put together some nice meals and outstanding desserts that made her feel special and cared-for, the number on the AGE line be damned.

As for me, I feel like I did OK. My gift was unimaginative but well-liked. But the weekend was more enjoyable than anything else.

____________________________

I'm not doing well on my diet, lately.

You ever see Finding Nemo? There's a part of the movie where Marlin meets the sharks who are trying not to eat fish ("fish are friends, not food"), and Dory gets a nosebleed. When the blood hits the Great White's (Bruce) nose, his pupil dilates and he becomes a full-blown predator.

Well, that's been me lately. I smell donuts.....next thing I know I've inhaled 3. Meals consisting of burgers and fries are trumping the idea of a nice, healthy salad. I get a beer, then another. I can't blame increased physical activity, as I've been going easier on that to let my injured shoulder rest. Maybe it's just been the cloudy, cool weather we've been having on the East Coast lately.

Or it's all just so much self-destruction! God forbid I live to see 40

But, it can't be rainy and cold all the time. I guess this too shall pass.

I've Got to Admit it's Gotten Better

So....what was it, something like 3 weeks ago when I reported that my shoulder popped out? In between then and now my problems seem so trivial. Japan suffered the effects of an earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent chaos arising out of the troubles at the Fukushima Nuclear plant. Oh, and we're bombing Libya. Somewhere in all this is also the threat of a Federal shutdown, something that would affect a great many hard-working folks who have to pay their bills and feed their families (unlike the members of Congress, who have no such concerns).

Well, here's my great tragedy: I had an MRI on the 16th of March and got the news from the doc yesterday......that it all looks pretty good BUT 'm under orders to avoid contact sports (like ice hockey) for another 4-6 weeks. Dammit.

You'd think I would be happy. The doc mentioned that if I were 20 years old I'd require surgery...at 60 years they'd rule it out completely...but at 40 years (well, almost) that I could flip a coin. According to him it's one of the few times that it's a good thing to be 40.

Then there's the hockey thing. It's playoff time, and to miss out on all the fun just sucks. Plus, when you play, you've gotta pay. So, there's the hit that your wallet takes...that sucks, too.

All told, however, I've got good range of motion and strength in the arm and am busily re-habbing it after my doctor's OK. I'd like to thank my Wife for running me to the hospital, my Mom for driving me to the doc's a few weeks back, and everyone who took a few minutes to wish me well.

It's not like I had time to lay around and heal. I had to skate with my kid's team in a skills competition 5 days after the injury. And we have had a youth sports EXTRAVAGANZA here, what with multiple hockey tournaments and tee ball and clinics and blah blah blah. It never ends.

Well, as Jesse Ventura said in "Predator," "I aint got time to bleed."

And my little blog has been withering on the vine, here. I've been a child-taxi, part-time worker, and general Mr-Fixit. There's little time to organize one rational thought let alone string multiple sentences together in a cogent manner.

As a great writer once said, repeatedly, so it goes

ouch

This hurts.

If you read my facebook posts you know I dislocated my shoulder playing hockey the other night. It was almost instantaneous, I ran into an opposing player and bounced off. My right arm, clutching my stick, twisted and popped. By the time I hit the ice I couldn't move my arm at all and knew I was screwed.

It was all my fault, I was trying to make a play and I'd blown it. I was also immediately upset. I'm supposed to help coach kid's hockey. My friends are relying on me to help at work. My family relies on me at home. My timing could not have been worse.

I was helped to my skates, it hurt to breathe and I wanted to vomit. I tried moving my arm around but it was agony. A few minutes later I went to the locker room to....very....slowly....change out of the hockey equipment. I also tried to lean into the wall and pop my shoulder back. Nuh-uh, no dice. By then, I knew I was gonna need to hit an ER so I called Carol (who freaked, this was not her first hockey-related ER trip). Changing was OK until I had to button up my jeans, that was interesting. As was wheeling my bag to the door.

By the time Carol arrived I was miserably slumped in the chilly lobby, hunched over like Quasimodo and generally feeling awful. Some of my teammates (Al and Ken, thanks guys) helped get my equipment in the truck, I think Ken offered to carry me and I should've let him just to see if he could do it but he's playing ice hockey with two bulging discs in his back. Brian grabbed the sticks I'd left behind on the bench. Again, thanks guys.

Off we went to the hospital. Old Gunpowder Road in Laurel has about 100,000 potholes. On on of 'em, my elbow smacked the arm rest and, well, ouch.

The ER folks at Howard County General were great. They tried to pull my arm into place without meds but that didn't work. The meds helped me to relax enough for x-rays, which were negative, so the docs came in to pull my shoulder back into place. He put his foot into my armpit and pulled, I felt and heard it pop.

But then it popped back out. Rinse and repeat. After a few tries they put me in a sling and told me not to shower until I could see an Orthopedic surgeon. ewwwww.

Well, that happens today. Yesterday was painfully uneventful, even when I took the oxycodone. I don't really love pain pills, they dull the pain a bit but leave me sleepy and fuzzy-brained. I took a couple to sleep, that was about it. I'm betting that the words "arthroscopic surgery" are in my future, but I'm not too worried- the folks 'round here tend to help pick me up when I'm down. I'll be back out there in no time.

Charlie and Me

Here's the man, himself, from the somewhat successful movie "Major League." I saw this movie on April 14, 1989, with the lady I'd eventually marry and have 4 children with. Yet, I digress.

You know how some people you meet will compare you to a Hollywood actor? They do, I don't know why. Some people seem to have a pathological need to place everyday faces with famous ones. Over my brief "dating" life I've been told that I looked like Tom Cruise, or the late Christopher Reeves of Superman fame. But, more than any other actor, I was likened to Charlie Sheen.

Well, let's clarify, when I was YOUNG I was told I looked like him. Clearly, his genetics held up (what with his "Tiger blood" keeping him young-looking and sober), whilst mine are succumbing to Conrad's "flabby devils". It's like I'm the State of Wisconsin and my cells have decided to go on strike. "No more hair, at least on his head! That'll teach him. And...SLOW HIS METABOLISM! STAT!"

Well, this was all the late 1980's, when Charlie was making good movies like "Platoon" and "Wall Street." He was a REAL actor back then, I think he'd done a few clunkers but got his big break with Oliver Stone, doing well-produced dramas. And then.... "Major League" represented his turn towards comedy and descent into....eventually....TV sitcom-land.

So it was that on April 14, 1989 I was set up on a blind date with a gal who I was told needed a prom date. We end up sitting in a crowded theater (where she worked, so we got in for free) watching an OK baseball-related comedy starring Charlie Sheen. She and I hit it off, the rest is boring history. I went on to live what's been a fairly steady, troll-like life in Loserville while Charlie's gone on to bigger and better things, right?

I'll admit, I've never watched his TV show. Or anything he's been in since "Major League." And so today I see him on TV with his "goddesses" and sounding like a deranged man hell-bent on being homeless, addled, and eventually alone. That is, I suppose, the only kind of ending his sad story can have at this point.

What's with those girls? They looked like they were BARELY 20, not all that great-looking, and he's leering at the cameras like a lecherous old vampire from the old Hammer Studios horror films. Yup, Chuck, I 'll bet they're there because you turn 'em on. Good luck with that. Why am I so sure they'll be on TV again real soon?

No one would compare me with him today. First off, I'm too fat and too bald. And my bank account is not flush with cash from any $2 million per episode TV gig...though I'm guessing his account is a little light right now, too (dealers enjoy getting paid). I don't get to live in a posh section of L.A. (OK I'm jealous of this, I admit) but then again I get to see my kids without having to worry over a court-ordered visitation schedule. Stories like his make me wonder what's so difficult about fame. What is it that makes so many of these famous people wander off the reservation? Perhaps it's only comprehensible if you live it.

He needs a smack in the face. Maybe two. Strung out actors are old news. So are dead ones.

Comic-Book dorkdom

OK, I have to come outta the broom closet here: I love comics. There. I said it. So, in keeping with the previous post on Batman, here's another entry based mostly upon a video game called "DC Universe Online."

It is something called a MMORPG, massive multi-player online role-playing game (break out your Dungeons and Dragons dice, guys!). Players create their hero or villain and are mentored by their favorite characters (like Batman, Superman, Lex Luthor, or The Joker) as they save lives / spread death and destruction all over the various ports of call in the game.

And at this house, we (mostly) love it. It's terribly addictive, I'd recommend it except that it can be the biggest brain-drain time-sucker you've experienced. As you level up your character you get more badass and can interact with the "heavies" of the DC Universe more. Which is dorky, I realize, but fun.

I also love video games. Not all of them, but some. I grew up with parents who resisted them, we eventually had an Atari and a Nintendo NES, later a Sega Genesis. In college, there were many times I'd sit at home with with my little brother playing Madden or Mario instead of going on a date or stepping out - it was fun to hang and goof off.

Nothing's changed much, except that sometimes I think I'm supposed to set a better example of responsible adulthood for my children than to sit on the sofa and geek out over games like this one. This is the source of endless household controversy, as the wife takes a dim view of video games.

My wife and I are about 40, and occupy a weird generational position. On the one hand, we were kids in the early days of home video games (with the Atari system), but those were days when games and gaming were less-advanced and far less immersive: you'd play a few levels and those levels were repetitive, the game exhausted itself within an hour or so at the most. As games progressed, that changed. And now, with the advent of online games, the gaming experience has expanded exponentially to the point of near-limitless gameplay.

As a result of maturing in this "gap" I've noticed that my peers (folks about my age) are split, some embrace new technologies openly and other seem to wish that we'd return to the halcyon days of "playing outside all day until Mom calls you in for supper" or "reading a book."

DC universe offers something like limitless play, though I'm not sure it's The Greatest Ever. Missions are repetitive at times, and that gets tedious. But the sheer number of different character types reduce the repetition. My son's hero is based on The Flash. My two daughters' on Wonder Woman and Batman respectively. And me, I'm the pal of the villainous Joker -duh. Sometimes it's just fun to splat the good guys with a huge boxing glove on a spring.

Like I said, my wife and I demonstrate the "split" I was referring to. She'd prefer our kids to get out of the house and explore the world. I can't really argue with that, it's a fun thing to do. But our kids (and perhaps this is my fault - being a lazy parent) seem to enjoy playing their video games more than chasing bugs outside. And yes, if you're wondering, I've fought with my kids over this plenty: unplugged the TVs, confiscated the games, etc. A healthy balance between "fun" and "obsession" needs to be found, most especially in a world where the video games are so damned addictive.

An older lady, a Eucharistic minister in our church, was talking to us a few weeks back at the local bagel shop. She mentioned that she played World of Warcraft with one of her sons (seriously, the last person I'd have expected to be playing that MMORPG). She said that, at first, she hated the idea. But, since her son lived across the country, she decided to try the game out as a way to connect with her son at his level - doing something he enjoyed. Over time, the game hooked her, too, and they apparently play it together every week.

I was struck by her story. You can try to force your kids to connect with you on a level that you decide that they should be connecting with you on....or you can (when appropriate - I'm not saying "anything goes" here....) try and engage them on their turf. In a world inundated with technological advances the choice is to embrace it or refuse it. My bet is that if parents don't embrace it their kids will.

I'm not saying I've got anything figured out, here at my little house - not at all. My preference would be for my little guys and gals to grow up healthy, get out and see the world, and do well in their studies - with video games being a pleasant diversion. For the most part, that's all they are (unless we're the 15-yr old....) And we're not lawless here, there are rules and we're in charge (for the most part). In the final analysis, it's merely one way to share an experience with my kids. I can live without the endless arguments between them about whose character is better than whose, though.

Because mine blows all their heroic asses up. With a smile.